3 Healthy Reasons To Consume More Nuts

Nuts are special types of fruits which have a hard shell and seed inside. There are many types of nuts which are grown and consumed all over the world. Some of the most popular nuts include almonds, walnuts, pistachio, pecans and Brazil nuts.

Dietitians all over the world recommend taking nuts regularly. So what is so special about nuts?

Nuts are crunchy and tasty snacks. They can be taken almost with all meals. In fact we ourselves eat nuts regularly.

One of the reason is nuts are good sources of fiber as they contain around 3 grams of fiber for 1 ounce weight. You may be already aware that dietary fiber consumption is absolute must if you want to stay healthy considering the average diet most of us take.

Here are some more reasons for consuming nuts and below are some of them.

3 Reasons Nuts Are Good For You

1. Nuts Contain Good Fat

When we hear of fats or fat containing foods generally we think that they are unhealthy. That is not the right information though. Of course some fats such as foods deep fried in low smoking point oils are bad. So are hydrogenated fats which are artificially created. These are in fact major reason for inflammation and heart diseases.

Nut on the other hand are store house of good and healthy fats. The fats present in nuts provide clean energy without raising your blood sugar levels rapidly. Which means that they are good for metabolic syndrome diseases such are diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

The fats in nuts are good for your heart and its healthy functioning. The fats in nuts help you reduce inflammation. Many runners depend on nut to deal with inflammation which is caused due to running long distances.

2. Good For Your Heart

Most nuts contain Monounsaturated fats in healthy proportion and they have been found to be beneficial for heart health. The unsaturated fats in the nuts reduce the bad cholesterol levels and makes the heart and cardiovascular system healthier. LDL cholesterol is responsible for plaque build up in the arteries of the heart. Since nuts help in reducing LDL it can keep your heart healthy.

Inflammation is another reason for heart diseases. As we saw above nut help reduce inflammation. Hence nut help in keeping your heart healthy in this way also.

One such article by Harvard University reports that consuming nuts can reduce the occurrence of heart disease by 30 to 50 percent. Many other studies including this one also conclude the same.

3. Helps in Weight Loss and Diabetes Control

Consuming nuts as snack can have a great effect on your weight loss regimen. In one such study posted earlier in which a girl lost 20 pounds, she mentioned that she took nuts as snacks every day as one of her mid day meal. Nuts do not allow your blood sugar levels to rise too quickly and release energy slowly. This is a real boon for diabetics.

Remember that you should take nuts in raw form. Raw form is the always better as some of the nutrients are destroyed when you roast or fry it. Frying the nuts adds oil to them and makes them unhealthy.

Other Benefits of Eating Nuts

Nuts are great source of energy and amino acids. They also contain various minerals. Eating nuts regularly reduce cravings and provide energy. This is especially important when you reduce your carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates are source of quick energy and when you reduce your carbs intake you should replace that with high energy healthy foods. Nuts provide that option.

What You should be careful about while eating nuts

One problem associated with nuts is the amount of energy. Fats contain most energy per gram when you compare other macro nutrient such as carbs and protein. Hence you should limit your portion size when taking nuts. Taking one cup of mixed nuts as snacks is not a bad idea per day.